


(The Making of) Selina Wayne

by orphan_account



Series: Helping Messed Up Gothamites AU [1]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Elementary School, F/M, Homelessness, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Martha Wayne Lives, Not Canon Compliant, The Waynes Adopt Selina, Thomas Wayne Lives, Young Bruce Wayne, Young Selina Kyle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Bruce Wayne befriends Selina Kyle on his first day of elementary school; Alfred is skeptical. The girl seems like a danger, the things she say imply a worrying background. However, as Bruce and Selina grow closer, the butler finds there is more about her than what meets the eye.





	(The Making of) Selina Wayne

Wayne Manor felt empty without the five year old rascal, Bruce Wayne running down the halls; thought Alfred Pennyworth, reflecting. The young Wayne’s first day at school had been today and the butler felt off having not seen the boy in hours. Normally, Bruce was at the center of his duties, that and cleaning; Martha seemed off as well. The older Wayne’s loved their son unconditionally and were always spending time with him, usually with Alfred as well. The lack of laughter coming from the halls or crashing coming from the living room was disconcerting, everything felt too quiet - too still. It was expected though, after all, all young men should attend school, Alfred just hadn’t expected the quietness to be so deafening.

The butler suspected that Martha would pick up a new hobby to keep herself busy, Thomas was already preoccupied with Wayne Enterprises so most likely would continue his schedule, simply with less interruptions. Alfred found himself watching the clock, he was itching to pick Bruce up, he missed the little tyke more than he thought he would. Bruce was one third of the most important people in the world to Alfred.

Alfred left to pick up his young master an hour earlier than he had to. Martha had wanted to come but hadn’t been able due to a last minute debacle involving one of her charities. He pulled into Gotham City’s Indian Hill Elementary parking lot, the Wayne’s had enrolled their son in a public school for moral reasons. They’d agreed that placing Bruce in such a place would help raise his awareness about the world, that not all young boys were as fortunate. Alfred had mixed feelings on the topic, he agreed morality wise but felt that Bruce’s education would bear less fruit in such an academy. Another worry he had was bullies, Bruce, with all of his money and smarts could be an easy target. 

Alfred wondered about his friends’ son’s first day for almost half-an-hour before the school bell rang and children began to pour from the schools front doors. It was a mess of kindergarteners to sixth graders, an absolute mob of moody pre-teens and imaginative seven year olds. The butler found himself drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, worrying as his dark-haired charge didn’t come into his line of vision.

Just as the Brit prepared himself to exit the vehicle and manually search for the five year old, Bruce appeared, walking from the school building and talking with a girl who seemed to be his age, her hair was a tangled mane of brown curly hair and she wore a beat-down looking leather jacket and a beanie with goggles. Alfred was wary of Bruce’s new friend, he didn’t want to be judgemental but he was protective over Thomas and Martha’s son. Bruce recognized the Wayne car and waved goodbye to his friend, he was smiling as he climbed into the back of the car.

“How was your day, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked.

The black haired boy was eager to speak about his day,”It was really good, Alfred! I made a lot of friends and Ms. Essen is really nice. Did you know that some people have red hair? I saw two today, and they were also twins, one of them wore glasses and the other didn’t though. Oh, and Jim is really nice, he stood up for me when some older kids tried to pick on me. Selina’s the best though, she colored with me and she showed me how to climb, she’s really good at it, she climbed all the way onto the roof, she got in trouble though…”

Alfred hummed as he listened to the boy go on and on, the inner thoughts of a five year old were interesting to hear about. He was saddened that already somebody had tried to pick on Bruce but was glad “Jim” had stood up for the youngest Wayne. 

“What was your favorite thing about today?” Alfred asked.

“Recess!” Bruce exclaimed,”Learning is fun but during recess you get to play! Me and Selina-”

“Selina and I” Alfred corrected.

“Sorry Alfred, Selina and I played pretend, we pretended to fight bad guys on the playground and the slides and stuff were like uh… ob...obstations?”

"Obstacles?” Alfred offered.

Bruce nodded enthusiastically,”Ya! Selina’s friend, Ivy played too. She’s shy though, and doesn’t really like running and stuff. We were all cops, me and Selina- I mean, Selina and I were the leaders, she taught me about bad cop good cop, she played bad cop since I didn’t want to.”

Alfred nodded but filed that away for later, he’d linked Selina to the brown haired girl he’d seen Bruce with. He didn’t want Bruce to be associated with anything violent, he didn’t want him getting hurt. 

 

The next week, Bruce asked Alfred if he could invite Selina over to play. Alfred wanted to say no, but he knew Bruce would keep asking and he had nothing but wary suspicion to keep Selina from coming over. So Alfred agreed, Bruce’s friend would come over after school on Friday, the butler was a bit unsettled when Bruce hadn’t given him somebody to contact as a guardian of Selina. Later, when Alfred brought it up Bruce had shrugged, he said that Selina didn’t really talk much about her family. Most conversations were about climbing and cats, Bruce often compared his companion to a cat. Previously Bruce hadn’t known much about cats but after spending so much time with his brown haired friend, he could name almost twenty breeds. 

Alfred was much more unsettled by that then Thomas and Martha seemed to be, both matched their son’s enthusiasm. Neither had met Selina yet but both were ready to embrace the girl with open arms, the butler was much more hesitant. 

When Friday arrived, Alfred waited outside the school building as normal and waited for Bruce and Selina to show their faces. As he waited he worried about the estate after Selina left, if she was a climber than surely she’d try to climb Wayne Manor, no matter how good she might be she could still mess some things up, dislodge a stone or hit a light. Maybe she’d even fall, she was just a five year old - that was another worry altogether, the Wayne’s did not need to be sued, money or not, if she fell.

Alfred decided that he’d lay down some ground rules, he began to think them over, number one was of course, no climbing, number two was tell an adult where you’re going and make sure that Thomas, Martha or Alfred knew where they were at all times.

He was thinking over number three when he heard the car door open, he peered behind him and saw Bruce sitting in the backseat, gesturing his brown haired acquaintance in. 

“Whoa.” Selina breathed,”This is awesome, you even have one of those weird servant drivers.”

“That’s Alfred.” Bruce explained.

“Huh.” Selina said, not seeming to give much thought over the butler.

“So what do you want to do once we get there?” Bruce asked as Alfred pulled out of the parking lot.

“Eat.” Selina replied,”I’m hungry and you’re always talking about all that ice cream you have. I never get any of that stuff. After that we can climb or play pretend.”

Bruce nodded,”Alfred, once we get home can you take out some of that mint ice cream we have?”

“Of course, Master Bruce.” Alfred replied.

The butler kept his ear tuned on whatever conversation Bruce and Selina were having, it was mostly mindless chatter but Alfred clung onto little pieces that were suspicious. For example “I’ve seen worse stuff”, “In my neighborhood…”, “Psh” and “That’s your idea of dangerous?”. If he was honest, which he almost always was - Alfred found the girl a bid condescending. 

When they arrived at Wayne Manor, there was an audible gasp from Selina, Alfred found himself in agreement, Wayne Manor was a marvel. He turned around to the backseat after parking and was about to lay down some rules when Bruce and Selina charged out of the vehicle.

“Wow!” Selina was yelling,”What even is that?”

Bruce was grinning as he attempted to keep up with her, explaining as they crossed the front yard into the house. 

Alfred sighed, it seemed he was in for a long day of running behind two hyperactive kids, he couldn’t complain though - this was Bruce after all and he was exceptionally well behaved. Selina on the other hand, he worried about. 

By the time Alfred made it into Wayne Manor, the kindergartners were nowhere in sight. 

“Bruce?” he called out worriedly,”Selina?”

He heard a giggle and turned to the direction it was coming from, in one swift motion the door of a nearby cupboard opened and Bruce and Selina fell out in a mess of laughter. Alfred did not appreciate this behavior but it was nice to see Bruce doing something childlike instead of his usual academics. The boy never ceased to excel in two categories, academics and manners. Alfred had to fight to keep a smile off his face as the two giggled.

Shaking his head, Alfred decided to leave them be, his former worries about rules temporarily having escaped his mind. Instead he focused on taking out the ice cream Bruce had requested. He put two scoops in each child’s bowl before calling the two to eat. A minute or so after doing so, Selina and Bruce wandered in. The girl grabbed the nearest bowl and sat down immediately, Bruce was more leisurely and tried to make small talk. His friend seemed to be ignoring him though, she was swallowing the ice cream so fast Alfred didn’t know how she got any flavor in, one arm was wrapped protectively around the bowl and she looked almost wild.

This worried Alfred, not worries for Bruce’s safety this time but for the young girl’s wellbeing. She was eating as though she hadn’t seen a proper meal in years, taking a closer look at her Alfred dared to say she looked a bit gaunt. The butler drew his lips tight, his thoughts troublesome.

Hazardously, he asked as the girl finished her bowl,”Well, Ms. Selina, how late are your parents willing to let you stay?” it was a grab for information.

The girl stiffened, it was hardly noticeable but Alfred could see it, it was a worry to him that a five year old needed to hide emotion. 

“Umm, my parents said I could stay as long as I like, even said a… ummm… sleepover would be fine?” 

The way that the little girl said ‘parents’ sounded like it was foreign to her tongue and Alfred was instantly even more concerned. If the word was so unfamiliar she could very well be an orphan, it made the older man’s heart tug. The fact that she was suggesting a sleepover concerned him as well, it could be an effort to get away from a negative environment she might be staying in. Suddenly the phrases “I’ve seen worse stuff”, “In my neighborhood…”, “Psh” and “That’s your idea of dangerous?” took on a whole different meaning.

“Hey that’s a great idea!” Bruce interrupted,”Alfred can Selina stay overnight? Please Alfred, please?”

Alfred very much wanted to say yes, but before his thoughts came Thomas and Martha’s,”I’ll ask your parents, Master Bruce, they probably would like to be alerted that Selina is here as well.”

Bruce nodded eagerly and finished his last scoop of ice cream before hopping off his chair, beckoning Selina to follow him, leaving the two empty bowls on the countertop. Alfred took it back, Bruce didn’t always excell at manner, that was the downside of having a butler he supposed.

 

After consulting with Thomas and Martha, the three adults agreed that Selina could stay the night. Alfred also hesitantly shared his concerns about Selina’s homelife, something that both Wayne’s ended up taking very seriously. They agreed to not yet take action and ask Selina but they would all look out for signs and decided if anything alarming happened they would speak to the girl. After all, it may just be Alfred’s imagination, he certainly hoped so.

As Bruce and Selina were preparing for bed (Selina would be sleeping in one of the manor’s many guest rooms) Alfred realized she was running about with any proper pajamas. He guessed that she’d put some on later but when time came to pull Bruce from Selina’s room and she wasn’t wearing any, he became concerned. 

“Ms. Selina, are you going to put any pajamas on?”

The curly-haired girl look down,”Uh, no, I guess I forgot to pack them.”

Alfred could tell she was lying, he didn’t say anything though,”We have some extras you can borrow, if you like.”

Selina shrugged,”I don’t care.”

Alfred decided she really looked like she did need new clothes, her jacket was torn and looked dirty, as did her pants. Her hair was a mess so when he brought a pair of pajamas into the room a hair brush came with it, as did a toothbrush. 

“Thanks, weird servant guy.” the girl said, showing a small smile.

“Of course, Ms. Selina, will that be all?”

The girl nodded and Alfred exited the room.

 

Around three in the morning, Alfred awoke to screaming.

He was alert immediately, years of fighting in the war kept you on your toes and screaming in the middle of the night usually meant bad things. He worried about Bruce first, and then of course Thomas and Martha, he quickly realized though, it was a feminine scream and not one that matched the Wayne matriarch’s voice.  
Selina. 

Throwing a robe over his nightclothes, Alfred exited his quarters and moved quick as he could to Selina’s temporary quarters. He didn’t bump into anyone on the way so guessed nobody else had been awoken by her screams, he was the nearest to her room and the other rooms in Wayne manner were fairly far away. Bruce’s was also nearby but once the boy fell asleep he was down for the count, especially after a hard day of play.

Alfred opened the girl’s door, unafraid, he had known as soon as he’d recognized the scream that it most likely wasn’t anything physically dangerous, it was more likely a nightmare. Alfred was intimately knowledgeable about them. Flicking on the lights though, and seeing the girls face didn’t make it any easier.

The fact that a five year old’s face showed so much anguish was terrifying, tears streaming down gaunt cheeks as the girl sleep-talked, “No, leave me alone, leave me alone! Mama? Mama where are you?”  
Alfred guessed that it was best not to use physical contact to awake the girl so instead spoke loudly,”Miss Selina, Selina you need to wake up.” 

The butler tried this for all of a minute before resorting to touching the girl, as he predicted it did not have a positive impact. While the girl did wake, her eyes were glossy and she frantically tried to push Alfred off of her. 

“Shhh, shhh, shhh.” the Brit muttered,”You’re alright Selina, whatever’s happening in your head isn’t happening now. You’re okay.”

The girl calmed down very quick, her eyes cleared and focused on Alfred. Her cheeks flushed red. While the girl seemed embarrassed and didn’t want to be around him, the butler remained, he didn’t want anybody, especially a five year old to be alone after a dream that had led to tears. They sat in silence for a long period of time, eventually, once Selina seemed to have calmed enough, Alfred decided to leave her. He didn’t want to intrude any more than he had.

 

The next day at breakfast, neither butler nor girl acknowledged what had happened. After she left, Alfred recounted to Thomas and Martha what had happened the previous night, everyone felt more troubled.  
Selina’s visits became frequent, almost every day she was allowed at Wayne Manor, Bruce and she grew closer and Thomas, Martha and their butler noticed more and more suspicious signs. Early into the visits, they’d seen Selina stiffen when Bruce reached over her for a toy, even flinched a few times whenever a loud noise echoed. Bruce didn’t seem to notice, but a five year old shouldn’t have to. 

When, in November, Selina visited Wayne Manor for what would be the final time; she acted odd. Her eyes were haunted in a way that shook Alfred down to his core, she was quieter than normal and much less wild. Even Bruce was seeming to catch on as she left for the day.

There was a silence as the Wayne family watched the girl trek away, she always insisted her neighborhood was nearby, despite the family’s worries about her wellbeing.

“Mom?” The silence was breached by Bruce,”Why does Selina have bruises on her neck?”

“What?”

 

The next day, Alfred, Thomas and Martha intercepted Selina as she entered the school building, telling Bruce to go on. The boy looked troubled but followed his orders. The brown haired girl had confusion written all over her face.

“Did I do something wrong, Mr. Wayne?” she asked the nearest adult.

Thomas looked bewildered and speechless, a rare look on the man with so much power’s face,”No, no of course not, Selina.”

“Selina,” Martha interrupted her grateful husband,”Could you tell us about your living situation?”

Pale green eyes went wide with horror for a brief second, it escaped nobody’s attention though.

“My living situation.” Selina echoed,”Umm, sure. I live with my parents in a house.”

Two words in the sentence sounded unfamiliar in a way that hurt everyone’s heart. Alfred wanted answers though and asked, a bit insensitively,”Ms. Kyle, could you tell us about what you’re actually going through?”

The girl bit her lip before blurting out,”She’s going to come back!”

“Who?” Martha asked.

Selina bit her lip and drew circles with her feet, waiting a long time before replying,”My mom.”

“What happened?” Thomas asked gently.

“It wasn’t that long ago, maybe a couple months, Mama took me over to a big building, it said orphanage, she told me to go knock on the door, I asked why but she didn’t tell me. Then when I was about to knock and turned around, she was gone, I tried to find her but I couldn’t. I walked back to the building and I told the lady who opened the door what happened, she let me in and dried me off. I stayed there for awhile, they put me in school. But they’re mean there, one of the teachers liked to… touch us funny and another one liked to hit us. I didn’t like it, so I left.”

Martha sighed sympathetically and Thomas nodded at Alfred, the butler turned around and dialed the CPS number, he listened to bits and pieces of Selina’s continued story.

“...Me and Ivy and Bridgit usually stay at this old house. People always say that old places are scary but it isn’t, Ivy’s was kinda scared though. Just bring in some plants though and she’s fine. She doesn’t stay there all the time anyway, sometimes she stays with her mama and papa, after that she’s always more quiet but she brings back food which is nice. I know it’s wrong but when Ivy doesn’t bring food me and Bridget steal food. I’m the best at it, nobody ever notices me.”

Sighing, Alfred finished the call and walked back to the Wayne’s, when Thomas looked at him inquisitively, he nodded. When Selina was done she asked them not to tell anybody,”I don’t wanna go back to the orphanage, I don’t even belong there, Mama’s alive!”

When CPS showed, the girl was terrified, Martha had to calm her down, she soothed the girl in a way only a mother could. Thomas went off to explain the situation to the agents, when they returned, they asked Selina if they could restate everything that she’d told the Wayne’s.

Selina was nervous as she looked at the men standing around her, Alfred became worried about her confession to stealing, a felony. She could be charged for it, he hoped that she would avoid speaking about it.  
The girl opened her mouth, closed it, chewed on her lip and opened it again,”I don’t wanna go back to the orphanage.”

 

An hour later, Selina was sitting in the GCPD center, a social worker named Phoebe Silicerine spoke in a hushed tone with Thomas. 

“We’ve identified the two abusers Ms. Kyle identified and they’re being brought in, she will most likely have to testify and be involved with the court cases. While that is happening she will be transferred to Don Falcone’s Home and School for Orphans. That is, unless her mother or another family makes a reappearence. Even if that happens, Mrs. Kyle will most likely be deemed an unfit parent.”

Thomas let out a heavy sigh, Martha muttered,”The poor girl”. Alfred stayed silent. The trio listened somberly as Phoebe continued. 

“Thomas” Martha began once the social worker finished, her tone was hesitant,”Do you think that, perhaps… well… perhaps that Bruce could have a sister?”

The Wayne patriarch’s face expressed genuine surprise as he turned to his wife,”A… a sister…Martha, are you implying…?”

“I believe she is, Master Thomas.” Alfred said quietly, internally hoping that his friend would answer in the positive.

“I mean…” the billionaire seemed lost for words,”I… would you… would I, would Alfred be prepared for such a thing? Would we... would Bruce be able to handle and work through all of her baggage?”

The blonde Wayne responded,”I am willing if you are, Thomas. We’ve always wanted more children, this is our chance. And Bruce, I’m certain that he would accept it; I know it’s all very sudden but…”

“The adoption process could take months.” Thomas said doubtfully,”We’ve no idea what she may go through prior to that, and I mean, we should talk to Bruce about it shouldn’t we?”

“We have friends in high places.” his wife responded,”The descision doesn’t have to be right away, Thomas. We can talk to Bruce tonight, just… are you open to it?”

Alfred’s friend ran a hand through his hair, thought for a moment and finally answered,”Of course. That girl doesn’t deserve the cards life has dealt her, we can and will help her in any way possible.”

Martha smiled and she embraced her husband.

As the couple pulled apart, Thomas turned to his butler,”Alfred, would you fetch that social worker? I want to put down that we’d like to explore the possibility of adoption.”

The butler nodded and took his leave, tapping the woman on the shoulder once he neared her. 

 

“You want to adopt Selina?” Bruce asked incredously. 

It was half past three in the Wayne household and Thomas, Martha and Alfred all sat across from the black haired boy at the dining room table.

“Only if you agree to it.” Martha reassured.

“It would mean a lot of change.” Thomas elaborated,”You’d have less time with us, Selina would be your sister, everything would change. Not only that, but you’d be close to Selina, perhaps past your comfort zone, you might see the absolute worst of her, but you also might see the best.”

“She won’t want to learn manners or go to fancy galas or anything.” Bruce said,”But… I’m fine with Selina being my sister... I think I want Selina to be my sister.”

“That’s all we need to know.” Martha said gently.

Alfred sat silently, he wondered if Bruce’s descision at six years old would remain strong for twelve or more years. This was a big descision and the lack of time to think over everything was disconcerting. The butler would be more than fine to have Selina join the Wayne household, but he wasn’t sure that they realized what they were getting into. His thoughts drifted to the girl’s nightmare. Selina was a good girl though, and Alfred knew that he would do his best, personally, to make sure the girl had a steady and safe childhood, starting now.

 

Less than a month later, Selina Kyle became Selina Wayne.


End file.
